Nationwide restrictions cannot be ruled out should England see a spike in coronavirus cases this winter, the Health Secretary has warned.

Matt Hancock also hinted that restrictions may not be eased over Christmas to avoid an "uptick" in the number of Covid-19 cases.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Hancock said countries in others parts of the world were already experiencing a second wave, adding it was "a very serious threat".

But he said the UK was managing to keep the number of new cases "flat" through the test and trace system and local lockdowns.

Describing the worst-case scenario, he said the UK could be battling bad flu and a growth in coronavirus as people spend more time indoors.

He continued: "Cases go up again, and we have to use very extensive local lockdowns or take further national action.

"We don't rule that out, but we don't want to see it."

His comments come as local Covid-19 restrictions were eased in northern England, which will allow social gatherings between two homes from Wednesday in certain places.

Mr Hancock told The Times that a second wave could be "avoidable but it's not easy", with schools reopening next week presenting new challenges in stopping the spread of the virus.

In an interview with ITV News, Mr Hancock said: "We're doing a huge amount of planning to make sure that the NHS is prepared and can cope to make sure that people can have as much freedom to enjoy Christmas, to enjoy winter, as possible."

But when asked whether there will be special rules to allow more people to visit one another over Christmas, Mr Hancock suggested it could lead to a rise in the number of people catching the virus.

He said: "The danger of a rule like that is that it increases the spread of the disease.

"I mean, there are an awful lot of things I'd love to be able to do, but the risk of them is that we see an uptick in the disease.

"Hence, we've had to take decisions that you wouldn't ever want to."